Issue #004
This is a bit past due—if your January was anything like mine, I think you’ll be able to empathize. But here we are, you made it. Cheers to your upcoming weekend! 🍻
Since I’ve been sitting on some of these Open Tabs for a bit—they’ve got a bit of extra spice on them and I think you’ll enjoy at least asking your AI tool of choice to summarize them for you.
Inside this issue you'll find
The Secret Art of Micromanagement
If you’re a follower of YC then you’ve probably heard about the now famous idea of “Founder Mode”, coined after being inspired by a talk that Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb gave at a YC event. Simon Sinek had a chance to sit down with Brian and ask him some questions about this perspective and his take on micromanagement. Spoiler alert: he’s not advocating for micromanagement, but rather partnership and being in the details.
The Rise of Personal Software
The SVP and Head of Design at Adobe, Eric Snowden wrote an article about the “Rise of Personal Software” a phrase I’m hearing more and more these days. In it he shares about his experience building a hyper-niche app that had no business existing (his words) for a comic book community he’s a part of. Why shouldn’t it exist because until just recently the tools to make it make economical sense didn’t exist, and now they do. I’ve dabbled in this the last week or two also, and have built an app for collaborating on audio files, an app that will scrape and parse recipes on web pages, and a fitness tracker.
Underperformance Marketing
The latest issue of Off Kilter argues that Brands are stuck chasing short-term ad wins while ignoring brand-building, even though the data says that balance is the key. What’s the result? Diminishing returns and weaker growth.
An AI wearable trying to read your mind.
I almost wish this one weren’t, but it is. I don’t even think I’m going to bother trying to sum it up for you, because you really need to at least look at it for yourself. It involves sticking a small orb to the side of your head. No, really.
BTS of OK Go’s Latest Viral Music Video
If you’re not familiar with this one, then I’d say start here, and then you’ll just want to watch the BTS video to wrap your mind around how they pulled this off.
